How to Catch the Legendary Pokemon in Pokemon Black and White

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These guys are hard to catch! So we've got some tips for you.

By Jack DeVries

You think Zekrom and Reshiram are the only legendary Pokemon you have to worry about in Pokemon Black and Pokemon White? Think again! There are over a dozen special Pokemon to collect after you beat the game's main story. Some of them can be hard to find, and most of them are damn hard to catch. So we're going to help you out and tell you how to catch 'em all.

We don't have all the legendaries yet, there are more, so we'll keep updating with videos and screenshots as we continue to add these elusive rare Pokemon to our Pokedex.

Before you go out on your quest to Catch 'Em All, here are a few tips:

Buy a crapton of Ultra Balls, Dusk Balls, and Max Repels.

Many of these Pokemon can take up to a dozen or more balls to capture. So you need to stock up. Likewise, many of the legendaries are hidden deep within caves, so Repels will help speed up the process without getting into dumb random battles.

Learn the move "False Swipe"

False Swipe is an amazingly useful move for catching Pokemon. It will take a Pokemon down to 1 HP, but never KO them. You can get False Swipe as TM 54 by talking to Professor Juniper in Nuvema Town after you've seen 25 different Pokemon.

Paralyze

Of all the status effects, Paralyze is the most effective for catching a Pokemon. We know you want to delete Thunder Wave, but keep it around, trust us.

Keep your Master Ball!

Many of you probably used the Master Ball to catch either Reshiram or Zekrom, but if you managed to get them without it, hold on to that sucker. Some of these Legendary Pokemon are very hard, and a couple of them like to flee battles, making a Master Ball a lifesaver.

Event Pokemon

Some of the Pokemon are linked to special events Nintendo did before and during the game's launch.

Did you see the latest Pokemon movie? Bet you want that cute little Dark fox Pokemon, right? Well then you better have gotten the special Celebi that was given out at Gamestop earlier this year, and during the mall tour. If you missed the giveaway, we suggest calling up all your friends, since you only need to borrow Celebi for a minute to get this special Pokemon.

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Put Celebi in your party, and head over to Castelia City. Go up the main street to the right of the Pokemon Center. On your right is a big building, with a sign outside labeled Game Freak. In the lobby are two characters, a boy and a girl. Talk to them, and a special little cutscene will happen. Make sure you have at least one Pokeball of any type in your inventory so that the girl can give you Zorua.

If you don't have Celebi, there is still a way to obtain the evolved form of the dark fox, Zoroark. It requires at least one of the Legendary Dogs: Entei, Raikou, or Suicune. They can be caught in Pokemon Platinum, HeartGold, and SoulSilver, or obtained through the Gamestop events earlier this year.

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With one of the dogs in your party, head over to Lostlorn Forest which is right above Route 16, to the right of Nimbasa City. There you'll find a recluse, who attacks you. If you attack with the legendary dog, the woman will lose her illusion, revealing herself to be Zoroark.

Legendary Pokemon

From the Pokemon Black and White launch day, until April 10, 2011, you can get a special item called the Liberty Pass, the key to obtaining the game's first legendary Pokemon, Victini. Obtaining the pass requires you to connect to the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection. Simply go to the Mystery Gift selection on the game's main menu to receive the gift.

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After that it's simply a matter of walking into the nearest Pokemon Center to receive the Liberty Pass. After obtaining it, you'll want to head to Castelia City. Head all the way to the left, and go to the dock. There's a man with a boat, who will take you to Liberty Garden. You'll find that Team Plasma is there, and after defeating a few Grunts, you'll be able to battle and catch Victini. He's level 15, but is fairly strong, so we recommend waiting until you obtain Ultra Balls to make it easier.

North of Route 13, which you can get to after you defeat the Elite Four, is an area called the Giant Chasm. It's a forest, but as you enter the area something freezes everything. Continuing north you'll find a cave, and inside that cave, is the Ice Dragon Kyruem.

At a daunting level 75, Kyurem is a beast to catch. He has some powerful moves, and his Pressure ability makes you lose PP faster than normal.

The Fighting Legendaries

There are three connected fighting Pokemon. Two can only be caught after the first is captured, so they need to be done in order.

Once you've acquire the HM for Surf and Strength, head on over to Chargestone Cave. Instead of going inside, cut to the right and Surf along the river until you get to a new cave, Mistralton Caves You'll probably want to teach Flash to a Pokemon to make traversing the dark cave easier. Follow the pretty straightforward path until you find an old man. He'll tell you about the three legendary fighting Pokemon.

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At the end of that cavern, Cobalion is waiting. He's a solid level 42, and quite a pain to catch. The battle in a cave, so use Dusk Balls, and be sure to bring plenty. The video is edited down, but it took at least a dozen tries with a Dusk Ball after I had paralyzed him and brought him down to 1HP.

After you catch Cobalion, you'll gain access to the other two legendaries. Fly over to The Pokemon League, and head south to the end of Victory Road. From there it's a quick walk to a now unlocked cave, where Terrakion awaits. Same deal as before, get him down and spam him with Dusk Balls because he's in a cave.

From there, fly to Nacrene City and head left into Pinwheel Forest. There's a small grass covered path on the right side of the road, and it leads to a small clearing, where the third and final fighting legendary awaits. Virizion is the most annoying of the three to catch. He's in a forest, so unless it's night the Dusk Balls are not as good. Also watch out for his Giga Drain attack, which refills some of his health, making him hard to keep in the red.

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Non-Legendary, Rare Pokemon

Not all the special Pokemon you can catch are legendary, but they are pretty cool and worth snagging if you're trying to catch 'em all.

Remember those weird statues in front of Relic Castle over on Desert Road? Well it turns out those are actually Pokemon. If you head back there after you beat the Elite Four, Professor Juniper will talk to you and give you a RageCandyBar. If you use the item on the statues the Darmanitan will wake up and attack.

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While battling it you'll notice why this Darmanitan is special. After his HP drops below 50%, Darmanitan transforms into a Fire/Psychic statue Pokemon.

If you went to catch Darmanitan and are still at Relic Castle, go ahead and head inside. If you follow Relic Castle all the way to the end where you previously had a cutscene, there will be a side room you can enter. One of the Seven Sages is hiding inside, trying to find Volcarona.

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Volcarona is a pain in the butt to catch. At level 70 he's very strong and has some powerful moves. He's probably one of the hardest non legendary Pokemon to catch. If you're not up to the task, you can pick up the pre-evolution form, Larvesta from a man on Route 18.

After you beat the Pokemon Black or Pokemon White, you can access the basement of the DreamYard to the right of Striaton City. If you head there on a Friday you'll find a special Musharna that knows Telepathy, a Pokemon ability that prevents damage from Teammate's attacks (useful for Double and Triple battles with Pokemon that know Surf or Discharge).